Geneva College Blog

Geneva College: No Need For The GRE

Preparing for the GRE, an exam typically used to determine whether a particular student is qualified or prepared for graduate studies, can be stressful and time consuming. The GRE can lend academic institutions some insight into applicants’ knowledge and critical thinking ability, but it has its limits. At Geneva College, we believe that there are many other ways to determine whether students are ready for graduate-level coursework. We allow any student with a grade point average exceeding 2.5 to enroll without submitting GRE results.

Benefits of Skipping the GRE

There are several perks to applying at Geneva and avoiding the GRE, including the following:

1.The test and associated prep courses are expensive.

If you don't have a lot of cash to spare, you've probably already thought twice about taking the GRE. The test itself is very expensive, with United States residents paying $205 just to take the exam. There are also numerous other fees, including late registration fees, paper-only testing fees, rescheduling fees, and fees for changing your test center.

Unfortunately, test prep can be even more expensive than the test itself. Depending on the method of preparation used, you could spend anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars as you get ready for the GRE.

2. GRE Prep is Time-Consuming.

Busy students with jobs and families have a hard enough time accommodating lectures and studying as it is; the extended prep work for GRE exams only makes matters worse. Scheduling your test can be just as complicated, and if you change your testing center or time, you'll be hit with a $50 fee.

3. The GRE is stressful.

Any big exam can cause significant stress, but the GRE is one of the most anxiety-inducing academic endeavors. A computer-delivered GRE requires just shy of 4 hours to complete and stretches your analytical writing, verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning skills. The cost of getting a bad test score is a huge stressor -- few things are more upsetting than spending a few hundred dollars on prep and testing and receiving a score that won’t help you reach your goal. So, the pressure is on, but the last thing students juggling work and family concerns need is to be stressed out over the GRE.

4. Scores are only valid for five years.

Five years after you've taken your test, your scores will no longer be valid. After the test's narrow reporting window has passed, you'll have to take the exam again.

If you have a GPA of 2.5 or above, you need not worry about the expense and stress associated with the GRE. Simply enroll at Geneva College, where your previous academic achievement is deemed more important than your ability to take a test.